


The Man is Booth 16 (Remastered)

by Booksimonseesmorphine



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Annie is his client, Anxiety, Eren is a chef, Ghost friendship, Jean is lawyer, Loneliness, M/M, Marco is a waiter, Mina is a waitress, Petra is a Cafe manager, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Redo of a previous fic, Sasha is a chef as well, Some Humor, i guess, so is mikasa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-31
Updated: 2014-07-31
Packaged: 2018-02-11 04:11:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2053068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Booksimonseesmorphine/pseuds/Booksimonseesmorphine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My name is Marco Bodt. I work in a Cafe that was nestled in my hometown of Jinae. One day,I fell for a man who was alive and breathing while munching on his favorite breakfast that he ordered every morning he came along. The next week or so, he was gone. As far as I knew of anyway. I assumed he was on a business trip or something. No one told me what happened to the man until I put the pieces together myself. The weird looks? The whispering? The apparently "empty booth I was talking to?" . What was going on? I sighed and sat on my bed while thinking as he hovered over me.</p>
<p>"Can Love truly make a ghost feel human again? "</p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <em>This is a redo of one of my previous fics </em></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Man is Booth 16 (Remastered)

  It was a beautiful morning in Jinae when I woke up this morning. The birds were singing and the sun just barely crept into my apartment window. I sat up and yawned when my alarm clock went off, yelling at me that it was time to get my lazy behind up and out of bed.

I really didn't want to, I was way too comfortable in my comforter, but hey I needed the money, renting an apartment is _not_ cheap in any aspect..

After battling with myself to get up finally, I made my way to the bathroom to freshen up. Stepping out of my cozy room and towards the restroom, I could’t help but glance into my living room.   My apartment  isn't the best one out there, it’s a one bedroom one bath type, like most are here, but I've fit my tastes into it. A few posters and some furniture later, it felt like I was back home again.  

Once my heavenly shower came to an end, I went back into my room to get my uniform on which consisted of a white button down shirt and black pants. Too wear dress shoes was entirely up to my coworkers and I.

_No one wore them._

My name is Marco Bodt, I’m a 23 year old waiter _(if  you haven’t guessed yet from the uniform description)_ at my local cafe named “Cafe Jinae” _(How original I know)._ I’ve worked there for the better part of about two and a half years. My co workers are all very nice, especially my Manager Ms.Petra Ral or how the staff and I refer to her as “Mama Ral.” She’s a sweet woman who gives off that motherly vibe sometimes, everyone notices it _but_ her.

Every morning and afternoon I walked to work. I live close enough so it is not a big deal. I shoved my hands in my pockets of my hoodie that I brought with me before I locked up my place for the rest of the day. With the weather as it is, we should have a decent crowd today.

_Hopefully._

Walking up to the little cafe, I saw the “family” waiting inside. Ms.Ral always gathered everyone to go through a “game plan” for the morning, which was our busiest time of the day.  I loved the little Cafe I worked at in Jinae. It's a decent sized shop, not to big not to small. Just cozy and always had that upbeat and happy vibe to it. When I pushed the door to come in, the small bell on top rang as the staff watched me walk over to meet them.

“Morning Everyone.” I smiled as Sasha beamed,Mikasa and Eren nodded, Mina smiled up at me and Armin offered me a grin which I happily returned. I was the tallest amongst the staff.

_Yay._

“Where’s Mama Ral?” I asked as Eren threw his thumb toward the kitchen, crossing his arms as he did so.

“In her office, she said she’ll be right back.” Eren replied as I shook my head and peeled my hoodie off my shoulders, laying it in my arms to put it away later.

My self loathing on the fact that I was the tallest ceased when Mama Ral came from her office and gathered us around." Alright guys, We are expecting a pretty big crowd today due to it being Thursday-" She stated while looking at each and every one of us. "I want this shop to look brand spanking new, also your aprons are in the back." We all nodded until she went behind the bar to retrieve our notepads and pens. Handing the waitress and other waiters along with myself one.

 "But Ms.Ral, the shop always looks new! Marco does a good job of keeping it that way." Sasha chimed in and nudged my shoulder playfully. I smiled and blushed while swaying to the side with the force of her playfully nudge. I shrugged then looked back at Petra.

  "Yes I know, so this should be child's play for you, Marco. Also, Sasha, Eren. There’s a new item on the Menu, look it over and make sure you can make it. Recipe is on the wall by the grill, got it?” She peered at the pair of chefs as they nodded. “Perfect. Now, the rest of you, please clean up the shop the best you can. We open in-” She trailed off to look at her watch on her wrist. “Ten minutes.”

The staff and I gave each other an understanding glance then went off to clean up the shop. Armin swept as Sasha and Eren cleaned the kitchen with the help of Mikasa. Mina and I wiped down tables and seats and Ms.Ral went to the back to grab the glass cleaner to wipe down the front doors.

“Hey Mina,” I started as she wiped down the table next to mine.

“Hm?” She replied as I moved to the Booth’s seats.

“How are you and the Family?” I asked as she smiled lightly,continuing with wiping down the seats.

“We’re pretty good, my mom’s planning a vacation soon.”  She stated as I smiled back at her.

“Oh sounds fun-” I began until Petra interrupted us.

"Five minutes people! Look alive and make Mama Ral proud!" I laughed as did everyone else. She used that statement every morning and every morning it was more funnier than the last.

Mikasa,Mina, Armin and I went in the back after putting our cleaning supplies away to get out aprons and be prepared for the rush.

I took a deep breath as did the rest of my team.

"Armin, It's your turn to open us up today. Mina, you're the hostess for now unless you get backed up then someone will fill in." Petra tied an apron around her narrow waist as Armin nodded and made his way over to the door and Mina to her post. The blond  flipped the sign to "open" and unlocking the entrance.  Welcoming the morning patrons as did the rest of us.

\-------------

  "Good morning and welcome to Cafe Jinae how many are in your party?" Mina asked kindly as the senior couple replied with "Two please." Mina nodded and gestured the couple to follow her.

"Alright, here are the breakfast menus plus our specials, your waiter will be with you momentarily." Mina smiled after leaving a slip of paper on the table that I would pick up after a few moments of the couple looking over the laminated menu. After I walked over to table twenty-three, I picked up the paper and placed it on top of my note pad as I pulled out a pen to take their orders.

"Good morning, my name is Marco and I'll be your server for this morning, are you guys ready to order?"  They nodded while looking over the menu once more. Waiting patiently, I twiddled my pen between my fingers while I glanced out the windows.

The Cafe's windows were medium sized, not to big not to small and overlooked an intersection plus a few more shops across the street. What really caught my attention, was a  pretty pricey car pulling up in the parking lot, a few spots away from the window I was glaring out of.

The car resembled a sports model and super expensive as of what I could see from where I was standing. It was a deep purple with two people emerging from it when the driver was satisfied with their parking job. When a pair came out of the car, my eyes immediately landed on a man with ash blond hair and an undercut. He wore a black suit and a deep green undershirt that was neatly pressed along with a pair of sunglasses.

The other person who came from the passenger side was a woman. She wore a white button up shirt and black work pants accompanied by small heels.

_"Damn that must be his girlfriend..Talk about upper class.."_ I pondered as the woman stated her order. I jerked and had to do a double take at the woman, forgetting what I was doing and laughed lightly. "What can I get you?" I asked as she pointed to a picture on the menu. I had to lean over to see what it was and nodded to her while jotting the order down.

"Alright, and for you sir?" I asked as I heard the bell chime in warning that someone opened the door. Ignoring it,  I took down his order and picked up the menus to slide them under my arm after putting my supplies away in my apron then retreating to the kitchen. 

Mikasa and Mina along with Armin were running to and from the kitchen with ether tickets for orders or trays. I slipped table twenty-three's ticket through the window as Eren took it and gestured toward a tray that was put in view.

"Order for table four is ready Armin. Mina table twenty-one's ready might need help though it's a big order!" Eren yelled out from the service window "Thanks Marco!" Eren called out as I nodded. Mina tapped my shoulder and asked shyly.

"Mind helping me with table twenty-one?" She picked up one tray as I  picked up the other. We passed Armin as he went for the window to get his order but stopped me mid step for a brief moment.

"Marco wait on booth sixteen for me okay?" Armin nodded over to the table and I shook my head. Showing him that I heard and would do my co worker a favor.

"No prob!" I caught up to Mina while she was repeating the orders and placing them by their owners. She then took my tray and gave me a slight nod as a "thank you." I patted her shoulder and went off to booth sixteen.

"Good Morning my name is Marco how are you today?" I grinned as I took out my notepad and pen.

"Pretty good." The voice said from behind the menu spoke up and I glanced over and nearly jumped out of my skin.

_"Oh, it's that upper class couple. Better give them the best..then again, I do that anyway."_  I thought and smiled at my own acknowledgments.

"G-good, can I start you two off with a drink?" I peered at the woman who was seated across from him. Blond hair in a bun with bangs, slender and kinda expressionless.

"What do you have?" The woman spoke up as I pondered, trying to remember our drink selection.

"We have Orange and Apple juice, Milk, Tea and Coffee. For our fountain drinks we have Coke, Root Beer, Mt.Dew, Fruit Punch, Iced Tea, Dr.Pepper, Sprite and 7-Up." I smiled and mentally high five myself for remembering.

"Pretty impressive memory you have there." The business man smirked up at me as I blushed lightly. His sun glasses were slid up to the top of his head, his eyes were almost golden, but regardless, he was awfully cute.

"Thank you sir." I bowed my head at the compliment.  

"I'll take a coffee and water." The woman said as I scribbled down the drink order.

"Coffee for you too sir?" I asked with a smile as the blush dusted my freckled cheeks still. He nodded and gestured for me to come closer.

"We're both ready to order, however, can you please tell me what you recommend?" He asked in a pleasant tone of voice.When I leaned closer to see what he was pointing at, his scent sent me spinning, he smelled so nice. Like his suit was just pressed and sprayed with something resembling an orange scent. The woman rolled her eyes and sighed impatiently.

"Flirting gets you no where Jean." She tapped her fingers on the table as he gave her a look.

"Seeing as you're my client for robbery, _again_." He pressed. "I believe a little flirting would be alright in this situation." He glanced up at me and winked.

_"Oh dear god."_ I blushed harder and stayed out of their conversation.

"Marco was it?" He asked as I nodded and stayed silent. "I'll have the French toast please. Annie what do you want?" I wrote down his order along her's and collected the menus.

"I'll be back with your coffees." I grinned sweetly as I ran to the kitchen to place the order and go to the back room. _"She's his client..hmm, Lawyer, maybe?"_ I asked myself then shook the thought out of my head. I made it to the coffee machine and noticed Armin making a latte and giggling lightly. 

\--------

"You set me up didn't you?!" I snapped then laughed as he snickered.

 " _Technically_ it was Sasha, she was the one who saw you giving him the goo-goo eyes. I only did what she couldn't." Armin shrugged as I poured the coffee into small white mugs before reaching over and pouring Annie's water into a clear glass, placing it in the middle of the empty trey. 

 "Armin!" I started shaking my head and laughing along side with my best friend. I couldn't be mad, he and Sasha were doing me a favor and for that I thanked him with a swift but soft punch to his arm. I'd have to get Sasha later.

"Wait, if Sasha was busy making food then how-" I cocked a brow as the blonde shrugged.

"Dunno,Marco, but she caught ya." He stated then reached over to the whipped cream, pouring a generous amount on the top. I hummed my reply while taking two creamers from the bins in front of the "Coffee station."

"So," He started as I placed the coffees on a spare tray. "He interesting or anything?" Armin asked as I nodded slowly.

"He winked at me and complimented my memory." I walked toward the door as Armin rolled his eyes, following me out.

"Sounds _so_ romantic." He spat before going to his table and setting the beverages down in front of their rightful owners.

Going back to Jean's table, I placed the coffees and Annie's water on the table.

"Your food will be out in a few minutes okay?" Smiling, Jean looked at me and nodded.

"Thanks Marco." I felt my heart stop at the way he said my name.

_"This man is going to kill me."_ I blushed more and left to go bus a table, taking the four dollar tip gratefully as I finished wiping down the table and taking the dishes to the sink.

"Marco,sixteen!"  Eren's voice came from the back as I washed my hands, strolling back to the service window and taking the tray in one arm and a collapsible table in the other.

The crowd was lessening as the day went on, it was about ten by now. When I went back to the booth, Jean seemed to be highly concentrated on whatever it was he was writing down as Annie looked around at her surroundings.

Spotting me, she kicked Jean from under the table. "Food's here Lawyer pants." I stood in front of the table as I watched Jean remove his glasses and put his book and pen away.

"Mm good I'm starving." Jean grinned up at me, with a flick on the wrist, the table straightened out and I placed the tray down. I put Annie's food down in front of her then turned to Jean.

"Careful the plate's hot." I warned after laying it in front of him and removing the towel that I placed underneath so I would burn my hand.

"I beg to differ have you seen yourself lately?" Jean retorted every so smoothly. Annie groaned and rolled her eyes, clearly aggravated with her Lawyer hitting on me. My face heated up again.

"T-thank you sir." I bowed my head again as he put his hand up to stop me.

"No need for formalities. Just call me Jean." He cut into his breakfast and hummed in approval. "Amazing Marco, good job."

"All I did was wait on you si-Jean, you should thank the cooks." I rubbed the back of my neck nervously as he kept eating. "Do you need anything else?" I asked as they both shook their heads. "Alright I'll check up on you again in a few." I turned on my heel and began to bus tables again grabbing some tips when they were present.

\------------

About a half hour passed before I went back to his table with the bill. "How was everything?" I spoke up as Jean peered at me with his glasses back on.

"It was fantastic thank you. "His golden eyes were memorizing. After grabbing the plates, I laid the bill on the table.

"Just take that up to the front desk and I'll take care of you from there." I grinned and walked off with the dishes. Thinking about him the whole time as I slipped into the kitchen.

"Marco!" Eren called over from his shoulder. "Did that dude like the French toast?" He asked while finishing cleaning his part of the stove. Sasha was on the other side whipping up some more pancakes for an order Mikasa was picking up soon.

"Sure did, he said it was fantastic." I called out and dropped the dishes into the sink. Eren cheered and gave me a high five when I walked past.

It was the first time he had made it and he couldn't have been prouder.  Opening the doors, I wandered back to the front desk to meet Jean and Annie again. Brushing my hands off on my apron, I began to ring up the bill.

"Your total is $24.43." I watched him take out his card from his wallet and slide it through the machine.  We were both silent for a few until the receipt spat out two printed papers. "Just sign here please." I ripped the paper out of the machine and handed Jean a pen after placing an "x" at where his signature was to be.

"Sure thing." He beamed while writing his name in surprisingly neat cursive writing. He handed the parchment back to me then fished around in his wallet to pull out a business card. He was writing something on the back but I couldn't read it at the angle I was at.

What I did notice was a metal Celtic cross ring on his right ring finger, It caught some stray sunlight every so often. It was plain but pretty.

"Here, just in case you need a handsome lawyer like myself." He handed me his card and winked with a wicked smile as I took the card and read it to myself. Taking my eyes away from his ring.

"Thanks I'll be sure to give you a call if needed." I chuckled as he waved while walking toward the exit with Annie close behind him.

"See you tomorrow!"  He shouted over his shoulder while holding the door open for Annie. I jumped and nearly dropped the business card he gave me.

"W-wait you're coming ba-" The door shut before I could get the rest of my statement out. Sighing I read over the card again.

_"Jean Kirstein, Lawyer for the District of Trost."_

_"Kind of far from home I see."_ I thought and flipped the card over.

_"Call me on my cell sometime we can hang out ;) -Jean K."_ Blushing even harder I ran to the kitchen to find Armin. Thankfully the Cafe wasn't so busy due to it being close to eleven.

\----------

"Armin!" I shouted happily as he looked at me over his shoulder,his bright blue eyes searching my face for a reason to my excitement.

"What happened?" He asked while he wiped his hands on his apron that was already dirty. Turning around to face me, I handed him the card and his face lit up. "You got his number!?"

I smiled and I swear it felt like we were in High school again. Acting like girls squealing and laughing. I didn't care I haven't felt this happy in a while. Of course Petra heard us.

_As did the remaining folks who were still eating in the dining room._

"Boys! Why the squealing?" Petra asked as she tilted her head to the side, removing her apron as she walked into the kitchen.

"Marco's got a date with a hot lawyer!" Armin smiled and clapped his hands together. As he did so, Sasha ran into the room we were all in.

"It worked?" She asked as Armin gave her a curt nod. "Yay! I knew he'd give you his digits, I mean who wouldn't."  She came over to me and nudged my arm, wiggling her eye brows as she did so.

"Hmm, am I right?" I laughed as she smiled. 

"Oh, is this true?" Petra raised an eyebrow and smiled as I nodded. "Good job Sash, You too Armin, I'm sure you two picked a good one for our little Marco." Petra strolled over to me and pinched my cheeks. "Is he coming back?" She asked.

"Yup, Some time tomorrow!" I beamed as Mama Ral ran a hand through her auburn hair after letting go of my cheeks.

"Good cause you'll be his waiter again." She said with a nod. I blushed and sighed, no use in arguing. Not that I'd want to for that matter.

\------------

Like he said, he came back the next morning but without Annie. He ordered French toast again and a coffee. Seeing him again was a nice way to kick start my day. I could get use to seeing him, honestly.  "You busy Marco?" Jean asked as I put his food down.

"Nope it's pretty dead at the moment. Why? Do you need something?" I asked kindly as he nodded.

"I'd like you to join me in breakfast. I-If you want to." He grinned after bringing his arms up from under the table to rest his chin in his open palm. "What do you say?"  I bit my lip while thinking and smiled.

"I'd love to I'll be right back." I made my way to the kitchen to pick up an omelette and coffee. "Petra! I'm taking ten!" I called to her as she shouted out " _okay, go ahead._ "

Jean and I ate our food while talking about our jobs and random stuff really.

"So, how long have you worked as a Lawyer?" I asked while he cut into his food.

"Hm, bout' a year pushing two." He replied as I took a bite of my food as well. "What about you? How long have you been here?"

"About the same time as you. Anything interesting happen lately?" I asked as he nodded, looking up from his plate as he did so.

"You remember Annie form yesterday,right?" I nodded, "She's been my client for a while, woman can't seem to stay outta trouble." Jean snickered while taking a sip of his coffee.

"I see, do you take a lot of business trips?" Again, he nodded and I wrapped my fingers around my hot cup.

"Been a while since I've left Trost, but hey, stuff happens." He shrugged as he finished his meal as did I.

"I haven't left Jinae recently, guess my life is kind of boring compared to your's,Jean." I laughed lightly and rubbed the back of my neck as he shook his head.

"Pfft, please I would rather have a boring life then this stressful one, but a job is a job right?" I smiled and shook my head.

"True, you have a point." I replied after finishing my coffee. "You done?" I asked as Jean nodded, taking his napkin and wiping his mouth off.

"Yup, thanks for joining me." He offered me a smile and I happily returned it.  I took our dishes and went to the back to put them away in the sink then made my way to the register to ring him up again. I was about to divide the bill between the both of us but he shook his head and frowned.

"Marco, don't worry about it, breakfast is on me." He smiled as I blushed deeply.

"A-are you sure?" I stuttered as he swiped his card.

"Mmhm,I look forward to seeing you again."He glanced up at me through his ash blond bangs before he sighed, placing his card back in his wallet. "Really, that case yesterday was a mess." I wanted to ask about it but I knew I'd be pushing my luck. "Anyway see ya!" He waved to me after signing a copy of the receipt and left for the day.

"See you!" I called to him and sighed contently when the doors shut. I laid my elbows on the counter and placed my chin in my palm, leaning into it as I smiled.

Today has been good to me like yesterday was.

I could get use to seeing his golden eyes everyday honestly..

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty, I decided to completely redo this fic. (Thanks to the wonderful AO3 user "ThePerfectPeach" for the advice. I appreciate it! :) The plot will be the same, I'll expand on Jean and Marco relationship thus making the fic longer and fill in some rough spots. Some of the previous chapter contents will stay, some will go. Some Chapter Titles will also stay,some will get erased. 
> 
> After rereading, I realized that I jumped around a lot and kinda rushed things and I wasn't happy. Some characters were severely OOC also. ((If some are still OOC from here on out, please let me know!!))  
> So! Here is a remake of "The Man in Booth 16" Hopefully this one is better.  
> Enjoy!
> 
>   [Visit me on Tumblr if you'd like](http://booksimonseesmorphine.tumblr.com/)


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